Ford Mustang Owners Manual: Installing child seats

Use a child safety seat (sometimes called an infant carrier, convertible seat,
or toddler seat) for infants, toddlers or children weighing 40 pounds (18 kilograms)
or less (generally age four or younger).

Using Lap and Shoulder Belts

WARNING

: Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.

Never place a rear-facing child seat in front of an active airbag.

If you must use a forward-facing child seat in the front seat, move the seat
all the way back.

WARNING

: Airbags can kill or injure a child in a child seat.

Children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the rear seat whenever
possible.

WARNING

: Depending on where you secure a child restraint, and depending
on the child restraint design, you may block access to certain safety belt buckle
assemblies or LATCH lower anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable.
To avoid risk of injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they
are able to be properly restrained.

When installing a child safety seat with combination lap and shoulder belts:

• Use the correct safety belt buckle for that seating position.

• Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle until you hear a snap and feel it
latch. Make sure the tongue is securely fastened in the buckle.

• Keep the buckle release button pointing up and away from the safety seat, with
the tongue between the child seat and the release button, to prevent accidental
unbuckling.

• Place the vehicle seat upon which the child seat will be installed in the upright
position.

• Put the safety belt in the automatic locking mode. See Step 5.

This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.

Perform the following steps when installing the child seat with combination lap
and shoulder belts: Note

: Although the child seat illustrated is a forward-facing
child seat, the steps are the same for installing a rear-facing child seat.

1. Position the child safety seat in a seat with a combination lap and shoulder
belt.

2. Pull down on the shoulder belt and then grasp the shoulder belt and lap belt
together.

3. While holding the shoulder and lap belt portions together, route the tongue
through the child seat according to the child seat manufacturer’s instructions.
Be sure the belt webbing is not twisted.

4. Insert the belt tongue into the proper buckle (the buckle closest to the direction
the tongue is coming from) for that seating position until you hear a snap and feel
the latch engage. Make sure the tongue is latched securely by pulling on it.

5. To put the retractor in the automatic locking mode, grasp the shoulder portion
of the belt and pull downward until all of the belt is pulled out.

Note

: The automatic locking mode is available on the front passenger and
rear seats. This vehicle does not require the use of a locking clip.

6. Allow the belt to retract to remove slack. The belt will click as it retracts
to indicate it is in the automatic locking mode.

7. Try to pull the belt out of the retractor to make sure the retractor is in the
automatic locking mode. You should not be able to pull more belt out. If the retractor
is not locked, unbuckle the belt and repeat Steps 5 and 6.

8. Remove remaining slack from the belt. Force the seat down with extra weight,
for example, by pressing down or kneeling on the child restraint while pulling up
on the shoulder belt in order to force slack from the belt.

This is necessary to remove the remaining slack that will exist once the extra
weight of the child is added to the child restraint. It also helps to achieve the
proper snugness of the child seat to your vehicle. Sometimes, a slight lean toward
the buckle will provide extra help to remove remaining slack from the belt.

9. Attach the tether strap (if the child seat is equipped). See Using Tether
Straps later in this chapter.

10. Before placing the child in the seat, forcibly move the seat forward and
back to make sure the seat is securely held in place.

To check this, grab the seat at the belt path and attempt to move it side to
side and forward and back. There should be no more than 1 inch (2.5 centimeters)
of movement for proper installation.

Ford recommends checking with a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician
to make certain the child restraint is properly installed.

In Canada, check with your local St. John Ambulance office for referral to a
Child Passenger Safety Technician.

Using Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren (LATCH)

WARNING

: Never attach two child safety seats to the same anchor. In a
crash, one anchor may not be strong enough to hold two child safety seat attachments
and may break, causing serious injury or death.

WARNING

: Depending on where you secure a child restraint, and depending
on the child restraint design, you may block access to certain safety belt buckle
assemblies or LATCH lower anchors, rendering those features potentially unusable.
To avoid risk of injury, occupants should only use seating positions where they
are able to be properly restrained.

WARNING

: The center of the rear seat is not designed as a seating position
and is not equipped with safety belts. The LATCH anchors were not designed to be
used with a child seat in the center position and there is no tether anchor available
at the center. Attempted use of the center as a seating position will increase the
risk of injury or death in the event of a crash.

The LATCH system is composed of three vehicle anchor points: two lower anchors
located where seat back and seat cushion meet (called the seat bight) and one top
tether anchor located behind that seating position.

LATCH compatible child safety seats have two rigid or webbing mounted attachments
that connect to the two lower anchors at the LATCH equipped seating positions in
your vehicle. This type of attachment method eliminates the need to use safety belts
to attach the child seat, however the safety belt can still be used to attach the
child seat.

For forward-facing child seats, the top tether strap must also be attached to
the proper top tether anchor, if a top tether strap has been provided with your
child seat.

Your vehicle has LATCH lower anchors for child seat installation at the seating
positions marked with the child seat symbol.

The LATCH anchors are located at the rear section of the rear seat between the
cushion and seat back below the symbols as shown.

When used in combination, either the safety belt or the LATCH lower anchors may
be attached first, provided a proper installation is achieved.

Attach the tether strap afterward, if included with the child seat.

Using Tether Straps

Many forward-facing child safety
seats include a tether strap which extends from the back of the child safety seat
and hooks to an anchoring point called the top tether anchor. Tether straps are
available as an accessory for many older safety seats.

Contact the manufacturer of your child seat for information about ordering a
tether strap, or to obtain a longer tether strap if the tether strap on your safety
seat does not reach the appropriate top tether anchor in your vehicle.

Once the child safety seat has been installed using either the safety belt, the
lower anchors of the LATCH system, or both, you can attach the top tether strap.

The tether strap anchors in your vehicle are in the following positions (shown
from top view):

Perform the following steps to attach a child safety seat to the tether anchor:

For coupe:

1. Route the tether strap over the top of the head restraint.

2. Locate the correct anchor for the selected seating position.

3. Open the tether anchor cover.

4. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.

If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event of a crash.

5. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the manufacturer’s
instructions.

If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being injured
in a collision greatly increases.

For convertible:

1. Route the child safety seat tether strap over the top of the head restraint.

The tether anchors are located rearward of the seat back in the convertible top
sling.

Note

: For easier access, attach the tether with the convertible top up.

Note

: The attachments for the convertible boot located on the back of
the head restraints are not tether anchors.

2. Access tether anchors located behind the seat back under the vinyl tag marked
with the child tether anchor symbol.

3. Clip the tether strap to the anchor as shown.

If the tether strap is clipped incorrectly, the child safety seat may not be
retained properly in the event of a crash.

4. Tighten the child safety seat tether strap according to the manufacturer’s
instructions.

If the safety seat is not anchored properly, the risk of a child being injured
in a collision greatly increases.

If your child restraint system is equipped with a tether strap, and the child
restraint manufacturer recommends its use, Ford also recommends its use